Return to Life
by IlmatarT
Summary: After the great battle, the bodies of Jon Irenicus, Jaina, and her companions were found dead at the Tree of Life. While being prepared for a burial and a wake, they give the priests a big scare for suddenly returning to life.


Disclaimer: Bioware owns, not me.

Author's note: Not beta-read, sorry about that. If you're going "wtf!" while reading this, check out Laufey's Edwin Romance Mod.

The City of Suldanesselar, despite being in the need of extensive repairs, had been saved and the Tree of Life was recovering. The City and its queen were in mourning, however, because the heroes who had rescued Ellesime, saved their precious Tree of Life, and defeated Jon Irenicus in all his madness, had lost their lives in doing so. The elves could hardly believe that a bunch of outsiders, with a drow amongst them, had sacrificed everything for Suldanesselar.

Jon Irenicus's body had been burned at the first convenience to make sure the wizard was truly gone, but the bodies of Jaina and her five companions were being prepared for a burial and wake fitting for true heroes. It had been some 24 hours since they had all been found lifeless in the midst of the Tree of Life. Now each of them were in their own, small preparation rooms in the temple of Rillifane, laying on marble pedestals, and the priests had clad them in virtuous white robes, and so waited for the burial ritual to start.

Blood had been wiped off their skin, the bodies had been washed and groomed and every one of the six looked serene and eternal after the elves had prepared them.

Imoen's pink bob-cut hair was silky smooth and the bruises around her eye and neck had been covered up. Minsc's formidable, muscular body had needed the strenght of three elven warriors to lift, and beside his body now lay also the stiff little furry hamster, who had also lost his life in the battle. Some of the priests had not wanted to do more but dispose of the body of the drow as soon as possible, but Queen Ellesime had told them in firm words that the dark one had as important a role in the rescuing of herself and her dear city as any of the other five. Viconia received a grooming just like the others, even if it was done reluctantly especially after enduring attacks from the Underdark until Jaina and her friends had appeared.

If carrying Minsc's body had needed several grown men, the body of the colorfully dressed gnome had been carried by one priest. They had been sure to gather Jan Jansen's gadgets from the battlefield too, and the round, grizzly gnome now lay dressed in white with his goggles neatly set on his chest.

It had been arduous to strip off all the layers of red robes and clothing from the wizard to change him to the white burial robe, but Edwin was to be sent to afterlife with the luxurious robes of a Red Wizard neatly folded beside him. His dark hair had been done carefully and his beard had been trimmed, and the elves had decided to bury him with his his golden jewellery - the diadem with the large stone on his forehead, the golden ring piercing his eyebrow, the little stud with a tiny ruby on the side of his nostril, the golden earrings, the large golden bracers decorated with precious stones, and the many, many rings he wore. The priests had sensed that not all of them were mere trinkets, but they had power and strong enchantmets to aid the wizard further. Of course he would not need them any longer, but they were his and a mark of his character and status, so he would leave the world with them.

The sparkling white robes contrasted the dark olive hue of Jaina's skin, just like it did Edwin's, even though life had left their bodies and turned them pale and cold. Jaina's dark brown long hair was brushed and set carefully on her shoulders and chest as she laid on the marble table to be carried away. Her thick lips were colourless now, compared to how she had liked to paint them dark red in life. The elves had kept the golden eyebrow piercing in place, as well as the large golden hoops hanging from her ears. Jaina, just like the others, had been severely injured before her death, but all signs of that had been covered with make up for the purpose of a dignified and beautiful funeral.

The priests were making final rounds by the bodies of their heroes, checking that everything was ready to begin the funeral pyre ritual. One of the priests, a slender, beautiful elf entered the small room where Jaina's body was held. She stopped beside her body, and started reciting a small elven prayer, just like her colleagues were doing by the bodies of Jaina's friends in the neighbouring rooms.

The priest did not notice how, very slowly and gradually, Jaina's lips were regaining colour. When she was half-way through the prayer, it was interrupted abruptly by the lifeless body laying in front of her suddenly jolting, right before Jaina's eyes opened wide and she gasped for air audibly and desperately.

The priest's peaceful prayer turned to a shocked scream, and the poor woman backed off from Jaina until she bumped into the wall. Jaina pulled her knees up with difficulty and rolled to her side on the cold, hard marble. Her eyes were stinging and tingling and soon watering when the dried eyeballs moistened again as her heart had started pumping the blood in her veins. She kept gasping for breath feeling like she hadn't had oxygen in her lungs for a day - which was, shockingly enough, true. By now terrified screams could be heard from the other rooms as well, and the priests ran out of the house in panic.

After a short while, Jaina's breathing got easier. She felt stiff and dry, swallowing was hard and her eyes were still watering and tingling. She pushed herself to sit up on the marble pedestal, looking around in the small, beautifully decorated but scarcely furnished room. Then she looked down at herself, and did not at first understand why she was wearing a white, loose robe. Just a moment earlier she had still been wearing her own black leather outfit with overknee boots, brown wide belt on her hips and... Jaina looked at her right hand that was empty. That hand had been holding her scimitar which she had thrust with all her strenght into the midriff of Jon Irenicus, after Edwin had been able to strip him off of his magical shields.

Jaina touched her chest, above her heart, when she remembered what had happened then. It had been the most glorious feeling of being restored back to her full self. She had regained her own soul from Jon Irenicus - and that soul had been the very thing that had pulled her, and her friends, to the Nine Hells to retrieve it.

This, Jaina thought, was not the Nine Hells any more. This was Suldanesselar, it had to be.

"BY THE GODS!" she heard an excited scream from somewhere outside the small room, and immediately recognized it as Imoen's voice. "Jay? Jaina? You here?"

Jaina carefully stepped down from the pedestal - her muscles were stiff and aching - hearing how the voice came closer. Finally Imoen popped her head into the room, let out a happy squee for seeing Jaina there, alive and standing on her own two feet.

"Immy!" Jaina laughed and moved towards her sister. The girls gathered each other into an awkward hug with aching muscles. When Imoen pulled back, she held Jaina's shoulders in her hands and looked at her. The dark young woman in front of her was smiling, a real, honest smile of happiness and relief, and there was a familiar glint in her dark eyes. Imoen had not seen a sincere smile from her in over a week, and her normally intelligent and mischievous eyes had been dull. Jaina had been but a shadow of herself, a shell that resembled the sassy, confident woman she had been before. But now Imoen could see by only looking at her, that she had regained her soul, and was restored in full.

"It's you," Imoen said, and matched Jaina's big smile. "Welcome back, Jay! Mystra's secrets, that was a close call huh!"

"Too close! But look at us. We've been to Hell and back - nothing can stand in our way," Jaina laughed. The sisters hugged once more, before they realized the others were up on their feet as well. Minsc was hugging the reluctant Viconia in the corridor and Boo was squeaking in delight. Jan insisted on shaking Edwin's hand for a lot longer than the Red Wizard liked - especially as he had someone else in mind entirely than the jolly gnome.

When Edwin finally got past Jan and Minsc - who, rather surprisingly, gave him a manly bear-hug as well - he checked the other rooms until he found Jaina and Imoen.

"Eddie," Jaina breathed seeing his face.

Edwin's brow was low and concerned when he stepped in. It had been too long since he had been able to talk with Jaina properly, exchange witty remarks and bicker, make fun of others, let alone see her smile or laugh or face her enemies with her usual playfulness. Ever since Irenicus had stolen her soul, she had gotten worse every day, until by the end she had been a dull but fierce machine, a tool of destruction. Never before had she been so devastating in the battle field - she had scared even her friends several times. For the last few days, Jaina had not even cuddled next to Edwin during the nights. She had shrugged off all attempts of affection, as if she did not even know such a thing to exist.

After having Jaina deteriorate into some soulless tool or murder until she had not even understood any friendly gestures let alone show any herself, seeing Jaina now had Edwin almost melting instantly. Instead of a cold, determined stare in her dark eyes was now a warm, longing look. Her eyebrows were lifted up, and her lips parted as she gasped for air.

Imoen took a look at Edwin, who but glanced at her and made a wave with his hand to send her away. Imoen gladly stepped back - the lovers had been through a lot after escaping the Asylum: being transformed into drows and fighting their way through Underdark, Edwin being kidnapped, turned into a vampire and finally killed by Jaina herself, only to be revived after chasing a few desperate leads to get him back, and finally going through the loss of Jaina even though she was always present. Dying, going to Hell and coming back to life once again after defeating Jon Irenicus twice was the sugar on top of the whole deal.

"Hi," Jaina said meekly and took a step towards Edwin. Imoen whistled as she made her way out past Edwin, who also took a step towards Jaina so he reached to cup her chin in his hands. Their eyes locked, and Jaina brought her hand up to hold his wrist gently.

"My deva," he finally said on a low voice. As if that had been the cue, both of them stepped forwards and embraced each other. In truth, both of them had already lost of hope of ever succeeding in restoring Jaina, she she sniffed tearily against his shoulder, while his hands shook in utter relief and an outburst of emotion. Edwin buried his face in her hair and enclosed her in his arms, and Jaina clung onto him desperately, feeling incredibly safe and warm in his embrace, against his chest.

"I'm, I'm so sorry," she whispered after a while, but Edwin shook his head before she could get any further.

"No, my deva, do not say that. Do not feel that. You have nothing to apologise," he said firmly, but on a low, quiet voice. They pulled back just enough to see each other's faces.

"Even without a soul you risked everything for me, in the middle of your own race against time. You saved me and brought me back," Edwin went on, and he stroke her long hair with his hand as he spoke. "If you must feel bad for what you did, or didn't do, while you were not yourself, that alone should compensate for it."

Jaina perked herself up on her toes, taking support of Edwin, and planted a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I never stopped loving you. I just didn't know how to show it anymore."

"No need to think about it any longer - that fiend Irenicus is no more, and you have your soul back," Edwin soothed her.

"I still think I have a lot of catching up to do," Jaina smirked, and that notion got a smile out of the wizard too.

Just as she was about to get into a detailed explanation of exactly what she was going to do to him in private, they were interrupted.

"So it is true!" was the amazed exclamation from the corridor. Jaina and Edwin reluctantly let go of each other and joined the others. It took a while for Jaina to see who had come to witness the miracle, since Minsc, Viconia and Jan all decided to give her hugs of their own.

Finally when she was able to turn, she recognized Elhan, one the leaders of the elves they had met already when they surfaced from Underdark.

"You must forgive me - it it wonderful to see our heroes living and breathing once again, but how is this possible?" Elhan asked as he walked closer.

Jaina had tagged him as a suspicious sort from the beginning, and the armed guards he had brought with him proved it once again.

"I explained to you the loss of my soul, didn't I?" Jaina began as she stepped through her friends. "We defeated Irenicus at the Tree of Life, but he did not give up that easily. He held on to my soul which I followed to Hell, and my friends," she glanced back at the motley bunch behind her and smiled, "bless them, followed me."

Elhan's eyebrows went up, and he had to admit that the human in front of her looked a lot livelier than before. "So this means you managed to regain your soul?"

"Indeed it does, Elhan," Jaina confirmed, her smile widening. "So you may rest assured that your guards are not needed. We're no ghouls, but at least I am terribly hungry," she continued, and turned to look at the others with a raised eyebrow.

Jan was the first one to second her statement, and soon all the others joined in. Elhan laughed, shook Jaina's hand welcoming her back to existence, and declared that the mourning was cancelled and the wake was to be replaced by a grand celebration.


End file.
